Financial Counselors Inc. Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSM. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WSM opened at $172.02 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.55 and a 12-month high of $181.42. The stock has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.29.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.